Florida defeats TCU 3-2 to advance to College World Series finals: Who will the Gators play to decide national championship?

One side of the 2023 College World Series finals has been decided as the second-seed Florida Gators defeated the TCU Horned Frogs 3-2 on Wednesday.

The win puts the Gators in the best-of-three CWS finals that begin Saturday. Florida awaits the winner of the other bracket between Wake Forest Demon Deacons and LSU Tigers.

The game had a thrilling finish with UF center fielder Mikey Robertson leaping into the outfield all to make the final out. He was asked about his mentality going after the baseball.

"It's do or die," Robertson said. "I'm gonna run through the wall if I have to."

Well, it's no longer do or die for the Florida Gators as they are now preparing for the CWS finals.

How did the Florida Gators win this College World Series game?

The Florida Gators were the visiting team Wednesday and started off strong as shortstop Josh Rivera hit a two-run home run to left field for a 2-0 lead before they even took the field. However, TCU got a run back on third baseman Brayden Taylor's RBI single to center to cut the deficit to 2-1.

The scoring ended until the bottom of the eighth when shortstop Anthony Silva hit an RBI double to left-center just beyond the outstretched glove of Robertson to knot the game up at 2-2.

In the ninth, the Gators put the pressure on, and second baseman Cade Kurland hit an infield single deep into the shortstop hole to score the go-ahead run. That wound up being the final score as the Horned Frogs' last chance ended with Robertson's thrilling catch.

Gators star Jac Caglianone has been struggling at the plate, going 1-for-12 in the College World Series. However, he was the starting pitcher on Wednesday and held the Horned Frogs to one run on three hits with three walks and four strikeouts. The bullpen pitched the remaining 4.2 innings as the Gators remained undefeated in three CWS games to win the bracket.

Now, the Florida Gators are going to have their eyes glued to Charles Schwab Field as Wake Forest and LSU battle it out to determine the other participant nin the finals. Which team makes a better matchup against the Gators, and can Florida win its first CWS since 2017?